I Think I Finally Lost It

Every time I think about how close I am to the end of the semester I remember everything I still have to do and how little time I have to do it.

Then I start freaking out and watch Netflix movies and do puzzles instead of the homework I'm freaking out about.

Seriously, in the past 24 hours I finished an entire box of cereal. (I eat cereal when I'm stressed/watching Netflix/doing puzzles.)

Anyway, tonight at midnight I finally decided to write the essay I've been putting off. This is how I started it:

            I’ve been putting off writing this paper for a long time. Partly because I’m a procrastinator and partly because I’ve learned so much this semester about myself and about Tucson and I don’t know how to summarize it all in one paper. But it’s mostly the first one. And now I don’t really have a choice, so here goes.

I hope my teacher appreciates my humor during finals week. Or is as sleep deprived as I am so that she finds this entertaining.

Whatever. At least the paper is done.

Miracles Happen

The weirdest thing happened today. I finished my math homework before midnight. Also, I actually understood what I was doing.

Most of the time I just make math up when I'm doing homework because I have no idea what's going on.

But today I actually knew what my homework wanted me to do, and I could do it!

Prepare yourselves people, the end of the world might be coming.

Kitchen Painter

Four months ago I decided to paint my kitchen.

Within two weeks I had finished the top half.

Two months later I finished the bottom half.

Two weeks after that I finally got around to telling the Internet about it.

So, for the record...

My kitchen looks awesome (finally):

And has hidden inspirational quotes on it:

It's pretty much my own Sistine Chapel. Minus the chapel part. And the Sistine part.

11:11 Make A Wish

Once upon a very long time ago, Plato wrote "I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning."

About five years ago, '?' on Yahoo Answers went on to explain this further. She said, "Math is all about rules and analysis....Everything has a solution, everything has its theorems and postulates and reasons. I guess some mathematicians would try to apply this to life, and assume everything has a procedure that will get you to the right solution, everything has an answer, everything is able to be analyzed and figured out. This isn't true."

I don't know if anyone else finds that as entertaining as I do, but for some reason I found it extremely insightful. Especially for Yahoo Answers. Also, '?' is completely wrong.

It is true.

This reminded me of a chart I saw once upon a time. I call it the Geek-Nerd Chart:

I'm happy to say that I fall mostly on the nerd side. Except when it comes to Doctor Who, because I love Doctor Who.

Today I watched the episode of Doctor Who where David Tennant regenerates into Matt Smith. It was heartbreaking. Seriously, I started crying. That's probably weird, but have you seen David Tennant as the Doctor? You would start crying, too.

While mourning the loss of David Tennant from my daily life, I found out he also starred in the wonderful movie called The Decoy Bride. So I found it on Netflix and watched it.

Scottish David Tennant plays British James Arber. British Alice Eve plays American Lara Tyler. And Scottish Kelly Macdonald plays... Scottish Katie. It was filmed to promote tourism in Northern Scotland.

As you can imagine, it's not a very good movie. I've already seen it once before and I thought it was awful, but then I realized David Tennant is in it and now it might be my new favorite movie.

Also, did you know David Tennant makes about five cameos in How to Train Your Dragon? They're all on YouTube in 5 second intervals if you want to watch them.

This is what I've been doing all day because I have a test tomorrow. It's amazing what you can find on the Internet when you are supposed to be doing productive things with your life.

I'm really going to miss David Tennant in Doctor Who.

Happy Veteran's Day!

People in the military are awesome. I don't know if they get told that enough, but they should.

You know what else is awesome? War propaganda posters. We've all seen these classics:

But what about these forgotten gems?

WWI:

WWII:

 

 

Apparently women became much less trustworthy during the 1920s... Wait, that makes sense.

In other news, Netflix took down all of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies.

Random Thoughts From This Week

1. Don't watch Dr. Who late at night when you are home alone.

2. Don't make any plans for the 48 hours after you take NyQuil.

3. Thinking about taking NyQuil then going for a drive to see if it really affects your ability to handle heavy machinery is a bad idea. Don't try it.

4. I think my roommate hid the Halloween candy because she thinks I'm addicted to it.

5. Don't eat candy for lunch and dinner.

6. My first thought when I realized the candy was missing was "Why is all the rum gone?" I don't even drink rum.

7. I think my roommate might be right.

8. Using logic to show that the more people die the easier it is to figure out who the killers are in Mafia does not make people think you are a trustworthy citizen.

9. Do not walk to your car alone after playing Mafia. Do not drop your purse on the ground when you are looking for killers under the car. Do not look startled when you hear a car door slam. It just makes you an easy target.

10. Really, it's a miracle I made it through this week.

Addictions

Addictions are hard to break.

For example, this morning I realized that I'm addicted to Tetris. 

Do you have any idea how long it takes to reach Level 43? I'm not talking about that one game, which is a ridiculous amount of time in and of itself, but it also means hours of practice in previous games.

Now, I don't show this picture to brag or anything, but to show just how much time I have devoted to becoming an expert at Tetris.

This evening I almost started another game before I realized I'm supposed to be breaking this addiction. I bowed my head in shame and closed the internet screen before I had a chance to change my mind, then quickly reopened it to share my story.

Amidst all the difficulty, though, it's nice to know that at least I can add Tetris Expert to my list of Renaissance Summer achievements.

Card Table Refinisher

Today I refinished a card table, and since a picture is worth a thousand words:

Unfortunately, that picture doesn't do this project any justice. It doesn't show the awful state the card table was in before I fixed it. It doesn't describe how sad I was when my mom wouldn't let me use the staple gun. Nor does it show how great the new, un-padded table is for board games and puzzles.

Which means that this picture is full of 1000 useless words.

But I love it anyway.

Spray Paint Artist

Like any good Renaissance story, this one starts in Rome.

Now, don't be confused. This isn't your normal 'American goes to Europe to be inspired to become a writer/painter/sculptor' (see: American in Paris, National Lampoon's European Vacation, Midnight in Paris). When I went to Rome I didn't want to become just any artist, I wanted to become a spray paint artist.

These people can be found all over the world, painting a national landmark against the backdrop of the planets:

Somehow, these artists have yet to come to Tucson. There is a lot of potential things people in Arizona could be throwing in front of planets -- the University of Arizona 'A', mountains, the Grand Canyon, copper mines -- endless possibilities. Not to mention, everyone talks about how beautiful Arizona sunsets are, why isn't anyone spray painting those beauties onto canvas boards?

However, after more wanderings around Europe, I realized that I couldn't limit myself to just spray paint art this summer, there were so many other random things I wanted to learn to do. For example, the more I traveled, the more holes I found in my clothes inspiring my goal to learn to darn. I also decided to become a sew-er while I was at it. While wandering my homeland I realized that I also really wanted to learn Danish. I have no idea why, but it just seemed like a good idea.

I went home and got started right away. On my way home from the airport my mom and I bought some fabric. The next day I went to the library and picked up a huge pile of books to help with my "learner of all knowledge" goal. Then I downloaded 5 learn Danish apps. I also watched a few YouTube videos about spray painting.

And then I got stuck. It turns out that spray paint art starter kits (yes, they're a thing) are expensive. And books are long and sometimes boring. Not to mention that sewing a skirt requires doing more than just sewing two sides of fabric together.

Baby steps, I reminded myself. The Renaissance didn't happen in a day, the world was at it for 300 years! If I can get in done in a summer I'm already 299.75 years ahead of them.

So tonight I finally started doing stuff. I finished my needlework art I bought in Florida. Not only is this the first needle craft I've ever actually finished, I finally learned how to do a French knot! (This has been plaguing me since my first needle craft at my Grandma's house, Utah, 2004.)

Day 1 ----> Finished Project

Tonight I also learned how to play poker in French. It's pretty much the same as English poker, except the words are in French.

I already feel so cultured. I can't wait to see what magical artistic adventures the rest of the summer brings.

Revenge of the iPhone

A while ago I wrote a very touching piece about my iPhone.

I take it all back.

Not really, but we're going through a bit of a rough patch right now.

Let's back up two months.

My mom's phone had just arrived. I was worried about telling my current iPhone that it wouldn't be joining me on my travels around Europe, but instead would be sent home.

I told it how much I was going to miss it and safe travels, then turned it off and put it in my suitcase with most of my other belongings.

And then I put my SIM card in my mom's phone.

For two weeks I traveled with that phone. It connected to wifi. It's battery lasted all day, even when I was using it. The lock button worked.

And then one day in Malta I decided to go scuba diving.

Don't worry, it's not like I brought the thing in the sea with me; it stayed in my backpack. Along with the soap I had brought to help put on the wet suits.

Out of everything in that backpack - which included my tablet, my wallet, and my passport - the only thing that got soap on it was my (mom's) phone. This soap managed to break the lock button (umm, what?) and destroy the back light. I spent the next two weeks squinting at my phone while holding it up to the sun any time I wanted to use it.

Then my sisters arrived in London. And with them came my sister's old phone. You would think that I had learned my lesson by now, but I hadn't and once again I switched the SIM card. It was like a light had been turned on, literally. I could use her phone without squinting. I could take all the screen shots I wanted. I could turn her phone off and back on again without plugging it into the wall.

Then, my sisters and I went to Munich. One day I'll tell this story in unnecessarily full detail, but for now - out of everything in my soaking wet backpack -- my tablet, my wallet, my passport, my sister's phone, her Kindle -- the only thing that got wet was my (sister's old) phone. How does this even happen? And it didn't just get wet, it got never-going-to-turn-on-again-completely-soaking-and-dead wet. This meant I was back to my mom's phone, the one without a working light.

I used that for the rest of our Europe trip, as well as the week I spent in Florida. Then I came back to Arizona, once again plugged in my real phone, and switched SIM cards. Its lock button still doesn't work. It still can't connect to wifi. Its battery still has the shortest attention span ever. But it's my phone. And I love it. Even with all of its flaws.

I just wish it could pull an Bumble Bee and upgrade itself to a better model while still staying true to itself.

Unfortunately, I'm fairly certain my phone is not a Transformer.

There's No Place Like Home

Last Monday I got on a plane to leave Florida. I watched out the window as we passed by endless lakes and trees and green stuff.

A few hours later I watched again as the plane came below the clouds to miles and miles of dirt.

I about lost it right there sitting next to two businessmen as the reality of coming home hit me. As a welcome home gift, though, Arizona did keep the temperature at 99ºF for me. My mom was there to welcome me home. I ran up and gave her a huge hug and didn't leave her side for the rest of the day.

My family has now moved on with their lives, so I've been stuck with the task of filling my own time. I've spent it wisely, though, reading about household manners, becoming a pro at online Tetris, catching up on all the TV shows I don't care about, and mourning the life I had for the past five months.

It doesn't happen often, but when it's 120ºF and everyone tells you not to leave the house, leaving Europe seems like a really bad idea.

When that happens I just try and remember my favorite things about Arizona:

Sunshine all day long and whiskers on cactus

Bright copper mining and warm days to practice

Making embrodiery with colored strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ice cream and conditioner of airs

Tan lines and lane lines and sitting in deck chairs

Children that swim with their cute water wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in sun dresses that will never be cold

Something and something else that rhymes with cold

Palm trees in winter and fun summer flings

These are a few of my favorite things

When it's too hot out

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

It's a work in progress.

The Amazing Race - Family Edition: Day 8

"Italy Doesn't Want You"

The first time I went to Europe I got to visit London and Paris. I knew that the next time I came back I definitely needed to visit Rome.

This idea was so stuck in my brain that I accidentally planned four trips to Rome. Oops.

The first one was amazing. Rome almost became my new favorite city. I ran around the entire city hitting up over forty "must-see" sights, including all of the places in Roman Holiday. Even the ones that no longer exist.

Most importantly, I visited the Trevi Fountain.

Then I went on my month long adventure around Europe. Long story short: I planned two trips to Rome during this time. On the first one, I got very lost in Rome with one of the girls I met while traveling. But you better believe we made it to the Trevi Fountain.

The next time I went to Rome, though, I was only there for a day and I was really tired. So rather than make the trip back into the city I just stayed at my hostel and slept.

Now my sisters and I are trying to make it to Rome, but the whole trip is cursed. Little do they know it's because I didn't throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain on my last trip to Rome.

We were supposed to fly out of Nice, but the train to the airport was delayed by two hours. We ended up getting to the airport 10 minutes after our plane left. The next plane didn't leave for another 30 hours.

We hopped on a train to Ventimiglia to find a cheap ticket to Rome. Sometime between us getting in line and getting to the counter the train sold out, so instead we got on the train with a connection in Genoa. Our plan was to sleep at the train station in Genoa for five hours, but when we got there at midnight it was super sketchy. So instead we wandered around the city looking for a hostel.

We ended up finding a hotel that served an All American Breakfast and was in our price range, so we checked in. Then we found out the All American Breakfast was served 30 minutes after our train left for Rome.

To fully understand the difficulty of this situation, you need to remember how much we had all been craving waffles for the past eight days. Oh, I never told you that story? Well, we were supposed to get waffles in London, which was also a failed mission, but then we ended up finding some, but we were all so sleep deprived we fell asleep at the restaurant. In conclusion, we really wanted waffles.

Anyway, we seriously considered missing our train to Rome for waffles.

But we decided to take the train instead and actually made it to Rome. Only to find out that we couldn't visit the Vatican because the president of Italy was there. And then when we came back we had missed it by 10 minutes. Then we got gelato, but it was so warm that it was dripping everywhere and our hands were very sticky. Also, Kyla sat in bird poop. And we almost got pick-pocketed.

It wasn't all bad, though. We did find some of the most amazing jam ever invented. And I also finally got to tour the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. Well, I don't actually think we ever made it to the Forum, but we did get to explore Palatine Hill. And most importantly we went to the Trevi Fountain.

Now, I'm not actually a fan of the Trevi Fountain. It's not as amazing and monumental as all the movies would have you believe. In fact, the first time I ran into it I only knew it was the Trevi Fountain because of all the tourists. But I have learned to not mess with the magic of the Trevi Fountain - it really does have power to either bring you back to Rome or keep you out forever.

Not really, but you should throw in a coin, just in case.

The Amazing Race: Family Edition - Day 1

"Arrivals"

Ever since I found out my sisters would be coming to visit me in Europe I had been planning our reunion. It would start with me running up to them at baggage claim with presents and Cokes in hand. We would do the bises and I would welcome them to London.

And then I didn't wake up to my alarm.

There was no Coke, no bises, and no welcome to London. Luckily, I had wrapped the presents before going to bed.

Before you judge me for being such an awful sister, you should know that my plane was delayed by about three hours and instead of getting to London at 22:00 I got in around 1:30. My sisters arrived three and a half hours later at 5:00.

The rest of the day was spent finding our hostel, canceling our reservation, wandering with backpacks in tow to four other hostels before finally checking in to a less-sketchy but still sketchy hostel, hanging out with Peter Pan for four hours, and falling asleep at the only restaurant that sells waffles past 9:30 PM.

I guess that's what happens when you plan a full day of sightseeing for three girls on no sleep.

The Amazing Race - Day 25

"Dream Come True"

On my first day of French Culture and Civilization, the professor gave a lecture about events happening around France. She covered the entire year, but I stopped paying attention around April because I wasn't supposed to be here after that. However, when she mentioned the Cannes Film Festival in May I found myself paying attention. And taking notes. The Cannes Film Festival is a big deal. Important people go there and do stuff with film. I took notes about how to get into the festival even when you don't have tickets, where the best place was to go star gazing (celebrity stars, not night stars as I originally thought) and why the festival is important. And then I tuned her out again.

Over the next four months, I forgot about the Cannes Film Festival.

One evening my host mom and I started talking about everywhere I was planning on traveling. When I mentioned Nice, she asked if I would be going to the Cannes Film Festival. Suddenly I remembered Cannes and how much I wanted to go there. We finished dinner and then I ran upstairs to check the dates of the Festival against when I would be in Nice. I was going to arrive two days late.

But when you're that close, changing your plans is worth it. Actually, I probably would have changed my plans no matter what.

My first morning in Nice I woke up nice and early for my hostel's free breakfast before heading to Cannes. As luck would have it, I got to sit next to one of the Festival's short film directors from LA. He even had a badge.

I figured if I was running into directors at my hostel in Nice, it would be a piece of cake to run into stars in Cannes. It wasn't.

Everyone I saw in Cannes was walking around with the same "I'm allowed to go into the Festival" badge I had seen earlier that morning. How was I supposed to know who was actually cool enough to get excited about seeing? Just kidding, I was excited to see (and very jealous of) everyone with a badge.

At one point when I was walking back from the beach, I'm pretty sure I walked behind someone famous. I have no idea who they could have been, but they were carrying two iPhones in one hand.

Just when I was about to give up hope and head back to Nice, I saw a large group of people gathering near some barriers. I wandered over and managed to make my way up to the front right next to the red carpet. An hour later, the stars arrived. Now, I'm not one to drop names, so I'll stick with pictures.

 

Two days later I was back in Cannes for the final night of the festival. Unfortunately, my train was 45 minutes late, and I got stuck on the wrong side of the red carpet where all I could see were the sides of people's faces. Once everyone was seated inside, they used the screen outside to let us commoners watch the closing ceremony of the festival. It was a remarkable experience to not only be there, but also listen to them translate everything into French and understand it.

In 5 years I plan on going back to Cannes. Only next time I'll be one of the privileged many walking around with my own badge.

A Big Thank You / Mes Rêves #9

#9: SCUBA dive at a WWII wreck site ✓

I would like to give a big thank you to the country of Malta for building up my dreams to unrealistic heights and then quite literally smashing those dreams into the rocks.

I am referring, of course, to the WWII wreck site of the HMS Maori, just off the coast of Valletta, where I am now. Unfortunately, the wind is coming from a northeast direction, smashing the waves -- and my dreams -- into the rocks. I might be willing to risk my life anyway, but so far I haven't found a dive shop that will take me out.

The other WWII wrecks are either above my skill level or above my experience.

Lucky for me, my goal does not read "dive a WWII wreck site" as I originally thought, but says dive at a WWII wreck site.

During WWII, Malta was center-stage in the Mediterranean theater of war - literally and figuratively. It's location was ideal for getting supplies to the Allies in North Africa as well as launching an attack on Italy. Consequently, they dealt with some of the heaviest bombing during the war. In fact, Malta holds the record for the heaviest sustained bombing attack - 6700 tons of bombs over 154 days and nights*.

You know what that makes Malta? A WWII wreck site.

Ergo, diving at Malta = diving at a WWII wreck site.

And if that isn't enough, my dive buddy was a marine for 32 years. Which means that I, a WORLD traveler, dove with my buddy, a WAR veteran, TWO times.

Diving in the Mediterranean Sea was really cool - I saw an octopus and jellyfish and even got to go in some caves (don't worry Mom, I made it out alive), but I'm still sad I didn't actually dive a real WWII wreck site.

Current score - Kenna: 0. Malta: 9.

So while Malta may have won the battle, I plan on winning the war. My new life plan involves getting wreck and technical deep certified, going on about 50 more dives, then coming back to Malta and diving not only the HMS Maori, but the Bristol Beaufighter, the Barge X-131, the MV Odile, and the Blenheim Bomber as well.

Next time I come to Malta I will be prepared. And Malta won't know what hit it.

*http://www.visitmalta.com/en/world-war-2

The Amazing Race - Day 13

"Production Issues"

I was bored a couple of days ago and decided to take the time to read the entire Wikipedia post on The Amazing Race. I learned a lot of random stuff about the show. One such thing was production issues - if the producers have problems with the start of a new leg, they'll extend the current pit stop by 24 hours. This gives them time to sort out the problems, but for the viewer, it looks like the race continued as planned.

Today I took a production issue break. Venice is cool, but I pretty much saw the city yesterday, so today I hung out at my hostel's pool all day. I fixed a few problems with my itinerary, relaxed, and got a whole lot of sun.

Continuing with the random, useless facts, your fingers get wrinkly in water because it gives you a better grip on slippery objects underwater. (Courtesy of GoogleFacts)

Finally, did you know Phil Keoghan, the host of The Amazing Race, is from New Zealand? Now you do.

The Amazing Race - Day 12

"How to Pack for 2 Months in Europe - for girls"

There are about a million websites that tell you how to pack for Europe. I know, because I've read most of them. And of the ones I've read, almost none are actually helpful. They usually tell you things like: lay out everything you think you need, then take half as many clothes and twice as much money, or: take clothes you don't mind throwing away. Hello, if I don't mind throwing them away, I've already thrown them away and no longer own them.

As the million and one-th list, I probably don't have any new information to share, but everything on this list I gained from personal experience, so maybe it will be helpful anyway. At the very least, feel free to laugh at what I thought was a good idea to pack for two months of travel.

1. Bring clothes you look good in. You're going to be taking a lot of pictures as you travel around Europe. Don't bring the clothes you're thinking of throwing away, just throw them away and pack cute clothes.

2. Don't pack a lot of clothes. No matter how well you pack, there will come a point when you will consider throwing away every single item in your backpack. The less clothes you have, the less likely you are to throw any of them away. Considering you've packed all the clothes you look best in, this is a good thing.

What exactly is packing light? Personally, I packed a pair of black jeans, a skirt, a dress, two pairs of shorts, five t-shirts, pajamas, and a swim suit. Every couple of days I find myself wearing the exact same outfit I did the day before out of necessity, which I take as a good sign of having packed light.

3. You get two scarves maximum. Maybe you're not a scarf person, but I am. Either way, you do not need more than two scarves. Wear one and pack the other.

4. If you ignored the above advice because scarves are light and you really need that third one, at least have the sense to pack scarves you don't like. Unlike clothes, you can pack scarves you don't like because they won't ruin a picture. Then when you need more room you can start throwing scarves away. (They take up a lot more room than you might think.) Whatever you do, don't pack your three favorite scarves or you'll be stuck with them the whole trip.

5. Check the weather forecast and then pack for the weather you're going to get, not the weather you want. If you choose to ignore the weather forecast because you're an optimist you'll be stuck with exactly one outfit you can wear comfortably in cold weather. This means you'll either going to wear one outfit for two weeks or you'll have to suffer through the cold.

6. If the weather says rain for the entire time you're traveling, pack an umbrella.

7. If you choose to leave the umbrella at home, at least be smart enough to pack a rain jacket.

8. If you don't bring a rain jacket, you're going to need a fleece. (This is the only one I got right.)

9. Even in the summer Europe can be cold, especially in the north, which is why I recommend a fleece. It keeps you warm even when it's wet. Kind of.

However, if you are spending a lot of time in Southern Europe, it is worth it to be cold for a while and avoid having to pack a huge jacket all around Italy. So bring a jacket, but not a huge one. You'll be cold for a while, but you'll survive.

10. Don't pack the new towel you bought while you were studying abroad that you love because

a) it is very hard to find a place to dry a towel in a hostel

b) towels do not smell that great when they don't have the chance to dry before you pack them back into your suitcase

c) it is not fun to dry yourself after you just got clean with a towel that smells weird.

Just sayin'.

11. Yes, you can pack that curling iron. Some people may think this is a waste of valuable space, but some days you'll just want to curl your hair, and that's okay. You're going to Europe, not the wilds of Africa. It's okay to want to look cute.

12. Be careful with shoes. It's easy to go overboard with shoes, especially for a girl. So keep it simple - a pair of closed toes, a pair of flats, and a pair of flip flops that can get wet (for the beach, shower, etc.) No boots and no heavy shoes. At some point you'll try and pack them and wonder why your suitcase is suddenly twice as heavy. I get frustrated enough when I try to pack my converse-like shoes in my backpack and they are about the same size as my flats.

13. Toiletries take up a lot of room. Accept that and move on. No, you can't throw away your shampoo, toothpaste, and brush. Unfortunately those are things you have to carry with you the whole time.

In other news I spent the day in Venice where I finally got to wear a warm weather outfit without being cold. It was a good day.

The Amazing Race - Day 9

"I Still Don't Like Germany"

Of all the countries in Western Europe, Germany was the one I cared the least about. All I've heard about Germany is they drink a lot of beer, so I was pretty much indifferent to the entire country. However, you can't do an amazing race around Europe and not visit Germany.

This morning I did a Free Walking Tour. I've heard so many amazing things about FWTs because you first go on the tour and at the end pay your guide what you think the tour was worth. I have no idea how much a tour is worth, just tell me how much you want me to pay and I'll decide if I think it's worth it.

But I went anyway, expecting to pay between 5 and 10 euros. And then my tour guide made a huge deal about how the tour isn't free, we just pay at the end instead of the beginning. He also made a big deal about how we needed to adjust for cost of living and how long the tour was - how much do you want to get paid for working four hours?

That's a valid question, and it got me thinking. For four hours, I want to be making somewhere around $40. That's more than I want to pay for a walking tour. However, since he's taking 12 of us on the tour, if we each only paid €4, he would still make more than me, even after taxes, and that's not even accounting for the euro-usd exchange rate. (Life is pretty much always like this as a math major.)

So does that mean I can pay €4 for this tour? Of course not, he already told me he expects more than €5.

I ended up paying way more than I wanted to, because the entire tour I was guilted into making sure I tipped well. If I had been on a paid tour, I would have paid the same amount and avoided all the guilt.

Strike one against "free" walking tours.

However, then I went on my paid bike tour of the city. In the rain. In a poncho. Just for future reference, it's a good idea to check the weather before booking a bike tour.

It was a fine tour, minus the soaking wet and cold part. Then we got to the end of the tour and all I wanted to do was go home and take a warm shower, but we had to have an end-of-the-tour goodbye meeting. I probably should have seen it coming -- but didn't -- when suddenly I was told I was expected to tip my guide. And I had to go through the whole process again - what is an appropriate tip for a bike tour? Luckily I only had one small bill in my wallet, so that was the tip. But really, I would have rather had the tip included in the original price so I could know from the beginning what I'm expected to pay. Why is tipping even a thing? Can I start a petition to get rid of tipping?

Strike one against paid tours.

In conclusion, I still don't like Germany. Anything Germany can do, Austria can do better, because Austria is amazing.

The Amazing Race - Day 7 / Mes Rêves #17

 #17: Visit a significant movie site of a movie filmed in Europe (I'm not really sure what this means, but I think I'll know it when I see it) ✓

I originally made this goal with The Sound of Music in mind, but I didn't imagine I would have the chance to make it over to Salzburg. And now here I am.

First of all, some sad news about The Sound of Music - the hill and lake scenes were not filmed in Salzburg, they were filmed 28 km away. So get rid of any ideas you had about singing The Hills Are Alive as you run around the hills. Other than that, it is very easy to get to the sites around Salzburg.

1. Mirabell Gardens: these are found in the city center near Mirabellplatz. This is where parts of Do-Re-Mi were filmed. Highlights include the tunnel they run through and the Pegasus fountain.

2. Catch Bus 25 from Mirabellplatz to Schloss Hellbrunn. (Cost: €2.30)

Schloss Hellbrunn is the current home of the pavilion where Sixteen Going On Seventeen happened, as well as Something Good. Unfortunately they locked it a couple of years ago because someone got hurt trying to recreate The Sound of Music, so now all you can do is see the gazebo in a place that wasn't even in the movie. But it's still pretty cool.

3. Walk to Schloss Frohnburg (about 50 minutes)

Schloss Frohnburg was used as the front of the Von Trapp house because the front of the other house is completely obstructed by trees. The path leading up the the house is also the one where Maria sings part of I Have Confidence.

4. Walk to Schloss Leopoldskron (about one hour)

This was used as the back of the Von Trapp house - this is where the kids fell off the boat and where Uncle Max ate schnitzel, among other things.

5. Walk back to the city center and up to Nonnberg Abbey (50 minutes if you don't get lost, 1 hour 15 if you do)

This was the basis for the abbey in the movie, but in reality they filmed most of these scenes in a studio. One of the only things this site was used for is when the kids come to the gate to try and visit Maria.

6. Walk to Residenzplatz (15 minutes)

This is where Maria sings the other part of I Have Confidence, most importantly when she splashes the horse fountain thing.

And there you have it - my own Sound of Music tour around Salzburg. I have headphones in most of the pictures because I was listening to The Sound of Music soundtrack on repeat the whole day. I finished the day by watching The Sound of Music... again.

The Amazing Race - Day 6

"The Hangover"

I don't know how drunk people do it. After my night at the bar and three hours of sleep, I felt like death, and all I had been drinking was apple juice. I can't even imagine what a real hangover feels like.

Lucky for me, today was another travel day. I made my way from Vienna to Salzburg via Grunau.

You've never heard of Grunau? Me neither, which is why I completely ignored it as a potential stopping point on my trip. My guide was determined to try and convince the three of us on the bus (yep, same three from my first trip) to change our plans and stay in Grunau. At first I thought she was crazy. But then we started driving through Grunau. And then we stopped at the hostel for lunch. And then I found out you can rent horses from the hostel. They hand you a horse and send you on your way to explore the area.

Why am I not staying in Grunau? Especially when this is backyard of the hostel:

                          

Yet another place I have to add to my "Need to Visit" list. It seems that the more places I go, the longer that list gets.

Anyway, I eventually made it to Salzburg. I wandered through the countryside, ate a dinner of chocolate, and then watched The Sound of Music - the hostel plays it every night at 7:00.

Nothing prepares you for a day in Salzburg like watching three hours of people singing around the city.

The Amazing Race - Day 5

"Schnitzel & Strudel"

I spent most of Sunday doing nothing. I justified it by telling myself I was just trying to be a good person by resting on Sunday, but in fact I was just being lazy. Consequently, I had a lot to get done today.

At breakfast I met some fellow travelers and joined one for a walking tour. There were so many people that I didn't get to hear much about the sites, but I did get to see them, so that was cool. We also tried Sacher Torte, which is a Viennese speciality. It's essentially chocolate cake, except it's better than chocolate cake. We then wandered over to the Hapsburg's summer palace. It's about a five minute walk from their winter palace - must be nice to be royalty.

This evening I finally got to go on the walking tour I had missed on my first night in Vienna. This walking tour was much smaller than the morning one, so I could actually hear the stories behind all the buildings. The city is also much more quiet in the early evening - probably because everyone is at the opera.

At the end of the tour, I got to try schnitzel and apple strudel. I still don't know what schnitzel is, but I do know that it is huge. One piece took up almost an entire plate and came with a side of fries. After all of this, I still had to try apple strudel. After dinner we sat at the restaurant sharing travel stories as a group. I think that is one of my favorite things about traveling Europe - getting to meet people from all over the world and hear their stories.

I ended the night with some friends at the hostel bar drinking apple juice, laughing at drunk people, and singing Don't Stop Believing until 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm going to miss Vienna.

The Amazing Race - Day 3

"All's Well That Ends Well"

For the next month I will be traveling around Europe with Busabout. Busabout has a bunch of different trips you can do from sailing around the Greek islands to touring around Eastern Europe, but the one I'm doing is their hop-on, hop-off pass. Starting wherever I want I can travel all over their North, South and West loops.

Today I hopped on my first Busabout bus leaving from Prague to Vienna, with a quick stop in Česky Krumlov. Vienna is one of the mandatory overnight stops, otherwise I probably would have skipped over it.

Because it was the first bus of the season leaving Prague (Busabout only runs during the summer months) our bus was pretty empty. There were a total of three passengers and four crew members. At first I was worried that it would be weird to be in such a small group, but it ended up being a great day of travel.

The guide and driver are so helpful. Before coming into a new city they give you a quick history lesson and tell you what there is to do around the city - this is perfect for a girl who knows nothing.

The more I learned about Vienna, the more excited I was to spend some time here. I booked a walking tour for my first night so that I could get familiar with the city before having two days to explore.

At 5:40 I started walking to the meeting spot, without a map. Not my best idea. But my guide had said that it was about 400 meters down the street on my right. How hard could it be?

It turns out it can be very hard. I can't even estimate standard measurement and here I was trying to guess how far 400 meters is.

I turned right at what I thought had been 400 meters at a place that looked like it could be the opera house and just started wandering. The meeting time came and went, and still I couldn't find the opera house. Eventually I found a map at the bus station, but after staring at it for 5 minutes, I couldn't even find where I was, let alone the opera house. Finally, some guys on bikes helped me find my location, and from there I found the opera house. It was about 100 meters north of me. (Probably. Like I said, I don't do estimates, especially metric ones.)

I finally made it to the meeting point 15 minutes late, but of course the group had already left. I walked around the opera house hoping to run into them, but I didn't even know who or what I was looking for, so it was a wasted effort.

I sat down on a fountain outside the opera house and tried to keep myself from crying. This probably seems really embarrassing, but you need to know two things. 1) I had already paid for this walking tour and 2) The price included dinner. Dinner of schnitzel and apple strudel. Now, I don't know what schnitzel is, but I know it's one of Maria's favorite things, so it must be good. And I'm fairly certain apple strudel is just apple pie - which I do not like - but I wanted it anyway. I felt like a five year old who didn't get a pony for Christmas. I wanted to sit on the side of the road and throw a temper tantrum until someone bought me schnitzel and apple strudel.

But I didn't. Instead I started making my way back to the hostel so I could spend my night in misery. On the way I was stopped by a man dressed in a costume who was selling something. My first instinct was to ignore him and walk away, but something stopped me and I decided to hear him out. He was selling tickets to the opera. Now, I like the opera about as much as I like apple pie, but I was in Vienna, and going to the opera is mandatory.

I bought a ticket and then wandered for an hour before the show started. As I started making my way to the opera - still without a map - I got lost, again. Luckily, I ran into the guy who had sold me the ticket. I told him I was lost, he laughed at me, and pointed me in the right direction. I started walking that way, but somehow managed to miss it. As I started turning in circles, trying to figure out where to go, I heard a whistle and looked over to see the guy laughing at me and once again pointing me in the right direction. He ended up walking me all the way to the door to make sure I didn't get lost, and finally I was at the opera.

The opera was amazing. I didn't go to the real Opera House, just a little side palace, and the orchestra was only made of six people, but they were all so talented. I even got to hear Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in the room where he had first performed it. Vienna turned me into a fan of the opera. It was even worth missing schnitzel and strudel.

The Amazing Race - Day 2

My Adventures in Prague Continue.

On my second, and only full, day in Prague it rained. And I got lost - a few times, so I had to make a decision between going to the park and going to the castle.

Obviously, I chose the castle.

The gardens/parks surrounding Prague Castle are not only beautiful, they are huge. This meant there were a lot of muddy hills to climb. I did a lot of sliding around the hills, but luckily no falling.

There was also a ghost tunnel in the gardens, which was really cool. (I don't think it was really a ghost tunnel, but if I were a ghost, that's where I would hang out.)

I even got to explore the Lobkowicz's Palace, which was the setting of the weird book I read. Even though it was weird (I know that that is the third time I've used that word to describe this book, but if you had read it, you would feel that it was justified) it was still really cool to be transported into the setting of the book. Plus, one of the Lobkowicz Princes had been a patron of Beethoven, so not only did they have original compositions by him, he had actually played and been in the rooms I was walking through. It was such a cool experience, and I wasn't even on any drugs. (That was the whole premise of the book - taking drugs to feel Beethoven's presence.)

In conclusion, Prague is awesome.

The Amazing Race - Day 1

I've been debating about when my amazing race actually started. Was it when I sent my luggage home and was living out of a backpack? When I left Lyon? Or when I left France?

I've decided it all started when I left for Prague because a) this is my first time taking a flight since getting to Lyon and b) this is my first time in a country where I literally know none of the language.

This is what I knew about Prague before I got there:

• There is a clock that does something cool every hour.
  
• There is an important bridge or something.
  
• There is a castle

I only knew about the castle because I read a fictional book that occasionally had true facts, such as there is a castle in Prague. The rest of the book was about taking a drug to travel through time. It was a weird book.

Anyway, since going to Prague I've learned:

• The clock show is not that cool. The only really cool thing is a skeleton that raises his glass up and down.

• The important bridge is kind of lame. It is essentially a very crowded tourist trap with silly souvenirs.
 

• The language they speak in Prague is Czech.
 

• Ahoj means hello (informal) in Czech. This is the only word I could remember because it looks like ahoy. I never got to use it, though, because I didn't know if it was rude to use an informal hello to people I didn't know, so instead I was much more polite and played charades with everyone.
 

• The Lennon Wall is in Prague.
 

• There are also some dancing houses that do not look like they're dancing.
 

• And finally: the Prague castle is stunning.

Let's Talk Bread: Mes Rêves #6

#6: Try 5 different types of bread at 5 different boulangeries in one day ✓

I love bread. In fact, that was one of my main reasons for coming to France. When I told people at church how much bread I planned on eating, they warned me that I would get fat.

But I don't care, because I love bread.

It's surprising, then, that it took me so long to make it to five different boulangeries. I didn't even make my first attempt until last Saturday, but only ended up making it to four on account of rain and Iron Man 3.

So Tuesday when I had a full day in Paris, it was essential that I finish this goal. Being the genius that I am, I started off with a 250g Fougasse à la Fleur d'Oranger. For those of you who don't speak metric food measurement, 250g is the same as 2 1/2 baguettes. Plus, the bread wasn't even that good. It was dry and there was not even a hint of orange to it. But I ate the whole thing anyway. All 2 1/2 baguettes of it.

I then had to eat four more types of bread, and I wasn't even hungry. Consequently, my next four choices were all about getting the smallest thing the boulangerie sold.

My second choice was pain au chocolat. It wasn't very good. Pain au chocolat from the bakery is always dry and flaky and not very chocolate-y. If you want some really good pain au chocolat, you should pick it up from a grocery store. It's much better.

Next I got a mini beignet framboise and a mini viennoiserie. The beignet was really good. The viennoiserie, on the other hand, was not. I thought it was going to be a mini viennois with glaze on the top, but it ended up just being a gross croissant.

I then took a break, because quite honestly I was full and didn't know if I could eat any more bread. In fact, I was so full that I only got a petit gelato. I never get petit, it's always a debate between medium and large, so this is a big deal.

Finally at the end of the night I made it to a fifth boulangerie, where I finally tried a Madeleine. It was pretty good, even though I was full, and tasted strangely familiar. I still haven't figured out what it tasted like.

It was a lot of fun to see Paris through its bakeries, and I got to try a lot of new breads/pastries.